While Anthony's role on the Rockets will be similar to the one he had on the Thunder, he should have more success playing alongside James Harden and Chris Paul than he did with Russell Westbrook and Paul George. The combination of Houston's All-Stars feeding him the ball in Mike D'Antoni's system, which relies heavily on isolation scoring, sets Anthony up well to make an impact on one of the best teams in the NBA.

The difference with the Rockets is they are a team built around two of the best playmakers in the league, not two shoot-first players in Westbrook and George. Houston also has far more shooters than Oklahoma City.

Sharing the floor with Paul, Harden, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and PJ Tucker instead of Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Jerami Grant, Corey Brewer and Patrick Patterson will give him much more space to work with when he receives the ball in isolation against slower-footed big men.

Whether the Rockets can figure out a way to hide Anthony on defense is a different story, Rafferty notes, but he'll have plenty of motivation to give the Rockets his all if he hopes to lengthen his NBA career.